The week back in France

 Monday- The kids headed back to school today, reluctantly. I had coffee while Karen took kids to school. Did a bit of housework and put the clean clothes away.  After lunch, I decided to walk the dog, so found my way down to the path and walked both ways on it. Sam had said if I walked 15 min in the direction toward the Mediterranean I would see the beach, but I didn't  see any beach after more than 20 min and I was starting to hurt. Another day I'll go without the dog. 

the path is close to the road in some places

The Var River runs down the other side. Sometimes we go down to it.

mountains in the distance

Park signs talking about things you can see

 

Tuesday- Today I didn't take the dog as I was determined to find the Sea. I walked to the end of the gravel path, it turned to sidewalk, and kept going.

 Here is my first glimpse. (The green on the horizon)

I kept going and reached Cap 3000, a huge circular mall. I walked around it and some other obstacles, past several restaurants facing the beach, but never did notice an access. They were building a nice walkway, but it looked like I couldn't get past their barriers, so I gazed from afar.

When I got home, Karen said there is access, but haven't been back yet. When I'd walked the whole way around, thankfully I came back to a street I recognized with the path way on the other side. 

As I walked the path, I've been observing the flowers each day. I hope to make a collage somehow, but posting them one at a time like these pics takes a lot of time.

I've developed a bit of routine to my days, so at some point I walk the dog while Karen is on calls and sometimes I do another exploratory walk. 

Wednesday-  Sam and Charlie got on the bus in Crotone this morning to head back to St. Laurent. They had a long wait in Rome and saw the Colosseum . 

Today the kids don't have school, so we went to a park, and then we got sandwiches at the bakery. There was no place we could find to picnic so we took them home. Tedy is working on a research project about Sweden and Joanna is doing one on Marianne, an icon in France. 

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She presented hers, but Tedy's is not due till next week.

Thursday- the guys got home really early in the morning so we all woke then to hear some stories before Sam had to head out for a meeting to sign the contract for his next 'stage' (Internship and placement in France are considered to be essential. Therefore, many students have to take one or two different types of work placements during their study years.)  

I took the dog down the path, but came home on some streets. I found a lovely park with lots of benches and shade; also saw a dog park, but didn't go in. We took advantage of having Sam home, by 'allowing' him to make supper.

Friday- Sam had to head back to Moirans today. Tomorrow he has an interview for a job in Grenoble for the summer (again in his industry). In the afternoon, I tried to renew my driver's license. You would think that internet would simplify things, but, oh, no, you cannot reach NS government site if you are out of N. America. Charlie helped me do something with VPN so I could complete my transaction. 

Saturday- Here we are to another weekend. The kids and I took the dog down by the river today. Everyone does their own thing. 

The dog can run loose, in and out of the water. Joanna plays in the trees, and Tedy kicks the ball and skips rocks. He also wades. I haven't yet, because it requires taking shoes off  and it is rocky. I content myself with sitting quietly gazing at nature and listening to birds. It's a nice spot.

Later, the kids cleaned their room, Tedy worked on his project and then he got ready to go to a sleepover at his friend's. In the evening, Joanna requested Monopoly, so we played until she tired of it and then it was bedtime.

Sunday- May 1- Today is Mayday, but also Labour Day in France. We had a relaxing morning and then Karen took the dog for a walk. I decided to do a bit of exploring and took lunch to eat somewhere. I went in a new direction and followed a busy street along, sort of parallel to a street I knew. I could not connect so had to backtrack a bit and the street I walked down lead to the Park I knew. But, today it was closed off with a huge street market. I wandered through and it was good I didn't have much cash or I would have spent too much. I love these markets. It was mostly clothes, and I found no fabric tables that I am always looking for. I remember the first year I visited David in France and I found a market on my own and managed to make a purchase of material with my limited vocabulary and some hand signs. At this market, I bought a hat for Tedy as this week school is requiring them, in order to play outside. I also got a pair of sandals which are very comfortable-good find.

I did eat my lunch in the Park and read my book until I felt like moving on. I explored a few more streets and then I went home. David's team were playing in Rome today and they won. We could see it; no sound and very poor picture, but we persevered just so we would feel a part of it.

And so, ends one week and begins a new one.